Page 144 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

over the scrolls are multipetaled gold blossoms resembling
roses or peonies. The belt also has loops used for attaching
small containers or pendants, as seen in the drawings of the
period (see 48a).
Other belts dating from the second half of the sixteenth
century are elaborately decorated and heavily encrusted with
gems. A group found in the Mausoleum of Ahmed I indicates
that peridot was a favored gem. In some belts the gems are
affixed to gilded silver plaques attached to leather strips cov-
ered with dark red velvet or brocaded silks, the contrasting
textures creating a colorful effect.
Both carved ivory and mother-of-pearl were very popular
in the first half of the sixteenth century and were used on a
number of objects. In addition to mirrors and belts, ivory, at
times dyed green, was employed on hilts of swords and dag-
gers, inlaid into woodwork, and fashioned into finials for fur-
nishings, banners, and tents. It was rarely used for objects in
58
the round. Mother-of-pearl was also employed on wood-
work and made into plaques decorating horse trappings, arms
and armor, and riding equipment, generally inlaid with gold
and encrusted with gems.
The decorative accessories worn by the sultans were limited
to jeweled kaftan fastenings (of which none survive from the
sixteenth century), belts made of rare and precious materials,
and gold turban ornaments called sorguç, which were basi-
cally pins with sockets holding the plumes of rare birds, stuck 79. Gold turban ornament with peacock feathers, second half sixteenth
into turbans and fastened by chains. Sixteenth-century exam- century (Istanbul, Turk ve islam Eserlcri Müzesi, 438)
ples of these turban ornaments are relatively small and at
times decorated with niello and gemstones; the later pieces
are much larger and elaborately encrusted with oversize em-
eralds, diamonds, and other stones. The illustrations dating
from this period show Süleyman, members of his court, and laid by the large leaves, appears in the middle plane, under
other personages wearing ornaments with aigrettes on their which is the lowest register of the disk; both are decorated
turbans as well as belts made of a series of plaques. with floral motifs. All components have raised outlines, the
Among the sixteenth-century turban ornaments is a com- floral motifs are finely detailed, and ring matting is applied to
paratively large example (79) found in the Mausoleum of the grounds. The back is incised with a series of lozenges
ibrahim Pa§a, who died in 1536 and was buried in a tomb composed of long leaves enclosing hatayi sprays amid leaves.
erected in the courtyard of the Mosque of §ehzade Mehmed. Similar motifs appear in the sockets and the upper portion of
The gold ornament is shaped as an ovoid disk with a large the shaft.
opening at the top, which still contains peacock feathers; The hatayi, with elaborate leaflike petals overlaid with flo-
flanking it are two small cylindrical sockets for additional ral sprays and lozenges created by thin long leaves (see also
plumes and a pair of rings, each bearing chains terminating 61), indicates that the sorguç was made during the second
with hooks. At the bottom of the disk is a tubular shaft used half of the sixteenth century. This striking ornament with its
to stick the ornament into the folds of the turban; the orna- highly sophisticated composition and flawless execution must
ment was secured by the hooked chains. have been presented to the mausoleum by one of his devo-
The front of the disk has a complicated design rendered in tees or descendants several decades after his death.
three superimposed planes. On the very top is a central roun- Another gold example (80), found in the Mausoleum of
del with a palmette finial enclosed by large leaves growing Hürrem Sultan, displays the simple elegance befitting a sorguç
from a floral source. This element, which is an abstracted rep- worn by a woman. At the top is a socket, incised with a saz
resentation of a hatayi, is filled with saz motifs; a scroll with scroll executed in relief against a ring-matted background.
leaves, hatayis, peonies, and blossoms with swirling petals Below is a fluted globe encircled by two molded bands. The
appears in the core, while blossoming branches and floral shaft is plain; at its top are rings, to which gold or jeweled
sprays decorate the leaves. A lobed medallion, its frame over- chains must have been attached.

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